Plant Gene and Trait 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 182-193 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/pgt 191 In terms of economy, the cost of molecular breeding is relatively high. Many pitaya breeding companies are small and medium-sized, and do not have much money to build laboratories or buy sequencing equipment. They are more likely to choose the lower-cost traditional hybrid breeding method. From the perspective of approval and promotion, new varieties selected by molecular technology must undergo a series of tests before they can be put on the market, and the whole process takes a long time. Moreover, if a certain nutrient is changed through gene editing, consumers may not accept it, and may even worry about whether it is a genetically modified product and dare not purchase it. 7 Outlook and Suggestions 7.1 Build a global pitaya germplasm sharing platform and database The current pitaya germplasm resources are scattered and not well organized. In the future, we can consider establishing a global unified platform and database (Li et al., 2024), led by some international organizations, and resource conservation units from various countries will join. This platform can be called the “Global Pitaya Germplasm Information System”. Each germplasm is assigned a unique number, and its name, origin, flesh color, whether it can self-pollinate, where it is stored, and other basic information are recorded. In addition, the molecular marker data in some scientific research literature should also be integrated to help each germplasm establish a DNA archive. Like the Asia-Pacific and Latin American cooperation projects, a set of commonly used SSR or SNP markers can be selected to classify pitaya in different countries, and the results can be uniformly entered into the system. The database interface should be simple, multilingual, and regularly updated. The IRRI rice database serves as a good example. This initiative can be led by CGIAR or FAO in cooperation with agricultural departments of major producing countries like China and Vietnam, who could initially provide some datasets. Chinese universities such as Hainan University have already begun efforts in this direction. 7.2 Promote the construction of multi-omics joint breeding system The current new technology makes pitaya breeding more refined. In the future, multiple omics data can be used to guide breeding. For example, we need to continue to improve the genomic data of pitaya, sequence different varieties, and establish a comprehensive gene information library (Zheng et al., 2021). We can also compare the fruit development process of different varieties to find out which genes affect characteristics such as sweetness, aroma and color, and then use metabolomics data to verify (Mou et al., 2022). There is currently a pitaya omics database PGMD, which contains genome, transcriptome and metabolome data (Chen et al., 2022). These data can be used for association analysis between genotypes and traits, so as to establish a predictive model for selecting offspring. Through genomic information, it is also possible to determine in advance which two parents may produce good offspring after hybridization, as well as possible trait performance. In order to promote this type of breeding method, talents from different disciplines need to work together. Traditional breeding experts should form a team with bioinformaticians and molecular biologists. In addition, breeding units in various regions should also build their own laboratories and introduce some new sequencing and analysis equipment. 7.3 Building a smart dragon fruit breeding path Smart breeding is to use modern technology to improve every breeding link. Take dragon fruit as an example. You can build a data platform to collect information such as germplasm resources, test results, and climate. This data can be used for analysis, such as using machine learning to find useful patterns. During hybridization, artificial intelligence can recommend suitable parent combinations based on previous data. During the breeding process, drones can also be used to take photos and quickly measure traits such as fruit size and stem length. Smart greenhouses and precision planting can also help speed up breeding. By planting multiple generations of dragon fruit in a controlled environment, the breeding cycle can be shortened. At the same time, sensors can monitor the growth of plants in real time and synchronize this data to the breeding database. New technologies
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